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NILSEN - Dennis Andrew Nilsen was born in Fraserburgh, Scotland, on November 23, 1945 the child of Betty and Olav Nilsen.
Dennis loved his grandfather, Andrew Whyte, but when Dennis was only six, Andrew died. His mother took him in to see the corpse, which triggered a "terrible awareness of devastating loss". He says in retrospect that it caused a sort of emotional death inside him. When he was eight, Dennis nearly drowned in the sea, and was rescued by an older boy. The boy must have been aroused by Nilsen’s prostrate body, because he removed Dennis' clothes and masturbated onto him. Nilsen was arrested on the 8th of February 1983 in a small apartment building in North London. A week earlier tenants had complained about their toilets not flushing, and a terrible smell. Five days later Mike Cattran who worked for a drain clearance firm, opened a manhole at the side of the house, he discovered lumps of rotting meat, some with hair attached, blocking the drain.
Mr. Cuttran immediately alerted the police, when they investigated the man-hole the next morning  most of the flesh mysteriously vanished, but police found traces of flesh and bone which was later confirmed  to be of human origin.  That evening when Dennis Nilsen arrived home from work detectives were waiting for him.  He seemed surprised that tenants had complained about the drains.  When the police informed him of the gruesome discovery he exclaimed "Good grief! - how awful".
Detective Chief Inspector Peter Jay replied "Don't mess me about, where's the rest of the body?"  To which Nilsen replied "In 2 plastic bags in the wardrobe. I'll show you."
After giving Nilsen a caution, he was driven to the police station, one of the detectives asked Nilsen "How many bodies are we talking about?  One or Two".  To which Nilsen replied  "Fifteen or sixteen since 1978.".
Under interrogation Nilsen described in graphic detail how he picked up homosexuals from public toilets or vagrants only too pleased to be offered a bed for the night, in exchange for sexual favours. Dennis Nilsen stood trial in October 1983 at the Central Criminal Court in London. He was found guilty of six murders and two attempted murders.
Nilsen was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a recommendation that he was to serve no less that 25 years.